Making My Own Destiny
by adalinewillow13
Summary: This story takes place a few years after Damian joined the Teen Titans and met his future team, he grew closest to Raven. They formed a close bond after they took down her father Trigon and the Justice League. Instead of returning to the Wayne manner, Damian has chosen to stay with the Titans and face their toughest rival yet. But can he be stopped and does he even exist?
1. Chapter 1: Three Years Later

It had been three years since Raven's father Trigon tried to take over the world by using her as a portal to get in. That fight has ended but still haunts her, knowing that her father would try and escape shard he is trapped in that now lies on her forehead. Every day she wakes up and sees it, it is a constant reminder of what could have been. Damian is the only person she allows into her mind and talks about what she is feeling. Damian decided not to return to the Batcave with Bruce and Nightwing shortly after joining the titans.

He wants to be with his new team at Titans Tower with Beetle, Cyborg, Starfire, Beastboy and Raven. He has grown tremendously from his experience with his new team physically, mentally and emotionally. He is now 16 and has grown about a foot taller, toner muscles, thicker hair, and a slightly deeper voice. He has also gained emotions such as worry, happiness, trust and faith, not like his stoic behavior he had when he was younger. All of them have grown up, Raven was now 17, Beastboy is 15, and Beetle is 18. Raven has grown into a beautiful young woman. Her hair was longer, she grew a little taller and had a toned body with slightly bigger breasts. Jaime Reyes has learned to gain almost full control of the scarab on his back. He has also grown a little taller and toner and keeps his hair in a shaven Mohawk. Garfield has mastered his animal shapeshifting abilities. He has also learned that when the team travels to a new world that he is able to morph into not just animals of Earth, but animals of the planet they are on as well. But with Trigon out of the way, new villains emerge. There is a new villain that keeps coming back to the city and then disappearing as soon as the team gets close to taking him down. Damian and Bruce have worked together to try and figure out who he is but the newspapers have already given him a name, Deadshot.

March 03 3:19am

Smoke filled the room, there's no way you would be able to see even ten feet in front of you. Assassins cornered Damian from every direction you could look. They were all completely covered in black, black masks, body suits, and footwear. Every single assassin was equipped with a large silver bracelet that went from their wrist to their elbow and it held a weapon of some sort along with a belt on their waists that held a sword and cherry bombs. Damian pulls out his blade and begins to go to work taking them down one by one. It seemed for every one he took down, three would take their place. Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Raven and Starfire in the air trying to take them all down. Then out of nowhere the smoke had cleared. It revealed Cyborg, who was taken apart piece by piece and Beastboy's lifeless body on the ground closest to Deadshot. He then crouched down and hid within the masses of assassins, disappearing from sight. Beetle appeared hurt on the ground next to Damian.

"How are we supposed to take all these guys down, there's too many of them." Beetle mentioned to Damian.

"We will find a way, just keep—" Damian was cut off just as Deadshot fired a shot straight at Starfire hitting her in the middle of her stomach and exiting her back in 7 different spots from 7 tiny shards that were once the whole bullet.

She went down. Damian and Beetle stared in complete shock and Raven was screaming. Their team leader down, but Damian refused to stand down even with three titans dead and only three were left. Gripping his sword tighter he started taking down the assassins again one by one. Beetle and Raven were blasting them as quick as they could but Deadshot was faster and fired another shot at Beetle this time. The bullet hit the scarab on his back, paralyzing Jaime Reyes instantly as he went down.

"Four titans down, two to go. You can't stop me Damian." Deadshot said

"Raven, we have to find him and take him down, he is hiding somewhere in this crowd of assassins." Damian looked at Raven who was hovering above him desperately searching and fighting off the sword attacks and mini bombs.

As Damian starts dismembering the assassins he catches a glimpse of a red eye in the crowd. Just as he goes to yell to Raven that he has spotted Deadshot he hears a single shot go off. He turns up toward her just to see her holding her left side right above her hip bone. When she pulls her hand away blood instantly starts pouring out onto the ground below her next to Damian. She starts to lose consciousness and begins to fall. Damian was able to catch her just to see the life leave her eyes. He brushes back her hair and tears begin to fall in anger. He looks up to notice all the assassins have disappeared and it is just Deadshot holding a single handgun in front of Damian aimed between his eyes. He lets his head fall; he had lost and given up. He continued to hold Raven tighter as he knew his fate had been sealed.

"I told you, you couldn't stop me. You should have pulled back the team while you had the chance to save some of them. You failed." he said. Just as he starts to pull the trigger, Damian's eyes shoot open.

Damian sat on his bed with his feet over the edge holding his head in his hands. He had realized it was a dream but it felt too real. His head was pounding to the point when he stood up to head for the kitchen he nearly lost his footing and went tumbling to the ground. Once in the kitchen he walked to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of water and sat down at the island and held the cold water bottle to his head. It took him about 30 seconds sitting in the kitchen to realize he wasn't alone. He stood up quickly and looked around spotting Raven meditating above the couch.

"What the hell Raven! I could have killed you." Damian said.

"That would have been kind of hard to do considering you have nothing to hurt me with besides your fists and I would have sensed you long before that. So, what are you doing up at 3:30am? Couldn't sleep?" she replied.

"Something like that, what are you doing up? Couldn't sleep?" he mocked.

"It's not that I can't sleep, I just don't want to. I keep having the same dream over and over and it is almost too real. It feels more like a memory then it does a dream." She responded.

"I feel the same way, the same thing has been happening to me. It's hard to explain I guess." He said.

"Then let me see it for myself, come here." She said

"Trust me Raven you don't want to see what I have seen. I know we have done this a few times before but I can't risk hurting you again." He said

"Just let me try and help you, please. You can't fool me I know when something is bothering you, I'm an empath remember?" she replied

"Alright, you win but I warned you." He said

Damian moved from his standing position in the kitchen and walked to the living room. He walked around the couch just as Raven gently floated down sitting on the couch sideways. She then patted the couch cushion in front of her motioning him to take a seat facing her. She didn't notice until he was in front of her that he was shirtless and wearing pajama black pajama pants. She blushed slightly as he bent over to take a seat showing off his incredibly sculpted arms and abs. He looked like a smaller, younger version of Nightwing. Once in front of her she began to glow with a black purple haze around her and her eyes began to glow white.

"Just relax and close your eyes." She said to him

He complied with her request and closed his eyes. She gently grabbed the sides of his head and they both began to levitate. It didn't take her long to be shown flashing images of his dream. She caught glimpses of her teammates being tortured by assassins and slowly being picked off by Deadshot. She was when shown then entire clip from her death to Damian's. Just as quickly as this process began it ended with her being thrown halfway across the room being completely shut out of Damian's mind. He fell straight down on the couch and his eyes shot open with the same pain in his head from before. He then noticed raven half way across the room holding her left side. Damian leaped off the couch and grabbed Raven into his arms.

"Raven, what happened? Please look at me snap out of it." He said holding her.

"Ahhhh, hmm." She said in pain

"Come on Raven snap out of it, please!" he said grabbing the side of her face with one hand.

Her eyes closed and the black purple haze started to go away and her body began to go limp. The color returned to her and her eyes opened and were no longer glowing white. The episode had finally passed. She sat up from his hands holding her head.

"Thanks for the headache." She said

Damian let out a small laugh before helping her to her feet with an arm around her waist and another holding her arm over his shoulder to balance her.

"Well, what did you see?" he asked

"Damian, can we talk about this in the morning. Please don't ask why or what I saw, I need time to process it all. Could you walk me to my room? Doing that kind of drained me, I feel a little light headed." She said

"I won't ask I promise, and I can do better than that. Now you know why I can't sleep and why I wake up from my dreams feeling like you do right now. " He said as he picked her up into his arms and began the walk to her room.

"I don't understand how you can deal with it every night." she said as she wrapped her other arm around Damian's shoulder and rested her head on his opposite shoulder.

Once they reached Ravens room Damian entered it and laid her down in her bed. She thanked him for carrying her to her room and they exchanged good nights with each other before Damian stopped at her door and looked back at her.

"Thank you Raven." He said quietly as he walked out and shut her door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2: Finding the Truth

March 04 5:30am

Raven woke up the next morning feeling very confused and nervous about what happened the night before with Damian. Could it be possible that they were having the same dreams? Was she projecting the dream onto him because they were so close? Are these dreams predicting a future fight between the titans and Deadshot? These thoughts raced through her mind endlessly.

She needed to tell Damian what she was going on. She took a shower hoping to calm down; it didn't work that way though. When she finished her shower she went back to her room to change. She put on a pair of lacy underwear with a matching bra, a short black skirt, an oversize sweater that exposed her right shoulder and thigh high black socks. She then left her room and headed for Damian's. When she got in front of his room she knocked on the door and it opened for her to enter. She quickly scanned the room finding Damian still sound asleep on his bed with an open book on his lap. Walking over to him she quietly picked up the book and the title read _Dream Interpretations: Understanding Oneirology_. She then glanced down at him again to find his eyes had opened.

"Geeze Damian you scared me half to death." She said clearly startled

"That's payback for you scaring me yesterday night. So, I'm assuming you are here to talk about what happened yesterday aren't you?" he asked

"Yes I did. I don't want to freak you out but I think we are having the same dreams." She responded

"What? How is that possible Raven? We can't be having the same dreams." He said taken aback

"I'm not sure to be honest but I think it could be one of two things. Either my powers have somehow be projecting my thoughts and dreams onto you because of how close we have become, or we could be having the same premonition about what has yet to happen. No matter how we look at it neither explanation is good." She said

Damian sat up in bed and let that all sink in for a moment. Raven had taken a seat next to him on his bed and just stared at him and then glanced down. She felt horrible because either way you looked at the situation; it wasn't going to be a good outcome.

"We have to figure this out, if these dreams or visions really are premonitions of the future then we need to tell the team and figure this out together." He said as he grabbed her hand and got out of bed.

The walked hand in hand into the main room of titans tower where the found Cyborg and Starfire. Damian didn't hesitate to go to the computer and start pulling up every file they had on Deadshot. Every location he was spotted at was marked on a map and every traffic camera footage of him was gathered as well. Starfire and Cyborg stared at Damian in slight confusion wondering what suddenly triggered this sudden intense interest. All three of the titans walked over to Damian expecting an explanation. Raven then stepped up and started explaining everything that happened the night before and this morning.

"Star, what the hell are we going to do?" Cyborg asked

"I think the first thing we need to do is figure out if Raven is just projecting her dreams onto Damian. Cyborg, is there any test you can do to see if this is happening?" she asked

"Actually yes there is, I can hook them both up to a machine that is able to manifest their dreams onto a screen and if Raven and Damian have the same dream again, we can somehow figure out a way to see if she is projecting it to him or not." He responded

"Alright it's settled then. Raven you and Damian will have to do this testing tonight to see what's going on." Starfire said looking at Raven and then back at Damian

Raven nodded her head in agreement but Damian was too focused on gathering information on Deadshot to care what Starfire, Cyborg and Raven were saying. He then got up and headed straight for his room, put on a t-shirt, grabbed his motorcycle keys and helmet and headed out the door. When he entered the garage he wasn't surprised to see that Raven had beaten him there as she stood in front of his motorcycle with her arms crossed.

"And where are you going?" she asked

"I need to go back to Gotham and talk with Nightwing and my father and figure out who this Deadshot guy really is." He said walking forward putting his helmet on

"I thought you wanted our team to help us figure this out?" she said

"I do, I'm not going to tell them about the dreams. I need Batman's computers and information. I think this Deadshot guy might be military. I'll be back tonight to do the dream testing, I promise." He said as he mounted his motorcycle and took off for Gotham.

Damian arrived in Gotham about an hour later. He pulled up to his home and was happily greeted by Alfred.

"Ah welcome home Master Damian so good to see you." Alfred said

"Thanks Pennyworth, happy to be back. Unfortunately I'm not staying long." Damian responded

"Alright, what can I help with?" Alfred said

"Yes, I need access to all the files on military snipers and every villain the Teen Titans and Justice League have ever taken down." He said

"If I may ask sir, what is it you are trying to uncover?" Alfred said

"I need to find out who Deadshot really is, and I don't think he is working alone." Damian responded

Damian and Alfred both walked into the Batcave meeting up with Batman and Nightwing. He briefly filled them in on why he was headed there on his ride over. They all greeted one another before Batman broke the new discovery to Damian.

"We looked into military personnel and discovered a connection you might want to know about." Bruce said to Damian

"What did you find father?" he asked

"Floyd Lawton, ex-military sniper originally started off as a hitman in Gotham until Commissioner Gordon and I threw him in to prison to rot. However, while he was there he moved up the ranks quickly and has connections to Joker, Bane, Scandal Savage, Ragdoll and Cat-Man. After serving his time he formed an elite group of assassins and changed his entire look. He went from a top hat and tuxedo to a red jumpsuit fitted with a targeting system over his right eye and wrist mounted guns. But here's where it gets a little interesting, he seems to be the successor to Deathstroke aka Slade Wilson. Perhaps when you took down him four years ago it triggered something in Lawton to become the best sniper now that Wilson was out of the way."

"So all of this is happening because of me? You think I somehow triggered his psychotic breakdown?" Damian asked a little angered

"Damian, it is just a theory and you did what you had to do when Deathstroke killed your grandfather, shot your mother and nearly killed you and Bruce" Nightwing said

"Dick's right, it is just a theory and he was pretty screwed up after he got out of prison. And if I remember correctly, you spared Deathstroke that night and he reportedly died a few years back. Justice not vengeance, always remember that Damian. No matter how bad this gets you can't lose focus." Bruce said resting a hand on Damian's shoulder.

"I won't, as much as I hate to admit it, you taught me well father. I need to head back to the Tower, I need to tell Raven and the team about this." Damian said

"What's the sudden interest in Raven? If you ask me I think you may just have a thing for her Damian." Nightwing said sarcastically

"Well then it's a good thing no one asked you isn't it Dick. She is my closest friend in the Tower, we spend a lot of time together and connecting over our shitty childhoods." Damian said clearly annoyed as he started walking towards his motorcycle near the entrance to the Batcave.

"Just friends my ass, I know a crush when I see one and you're not fooling anyone." Nightwing said

And just like that Damian spun around sword already in hand charging at him. Nightwing quickly pulled out his escrima sticks and had a devilish grin on his face knowing that he had gotten a rouse out of Damian. Batman then blocked the both of them before the fight could begin.

"ENOUGH! You two are acting like children and I've had enough. Dick head back to Buldhaven, you have a meeting back here in Gotham first thing in the morning. Damian get back to the Tower and inform your team to keep their eyes open for Deadshot, I have a bad feeling he might be planning something big." Batman said

"Fine, you were lucky this time Grayson." Damian said as he headed back for his bike.

"So you may think Damian, see you later bro. Bruce I will see you bright and early tomorrow morning." Dick said as he headed for his black sports car and took off for Buldhaven.

Once back at the Tower the first thing Damian did after he parked his bike in the garage is call for a team meeting. Everyone gathered in the living room, Starfire was the first to arrive with Cyborg not far behind, followed by Raven then Beetle and lastly Beastboy. Once they were all present Damian proceeded to explain to them what Batman had found regarding Deadshot.

"So this Floyd Lawton guy stepped up in the ranks because you killed his Slade? And he has connections to the biggest villains we have ever faced? We are officially screwed." Beastboy said

"Garfield why would you think we are screwed? We have helped take these guys down before and think, they are all still locked up and only Lawton is out." Starfire said looking to Garfield

"Think about it, this nobody was able to break out of Arkham on his own, form a huge army of snipers ready to die for him and he has connections to the biggest crime bosses in history that are also ready to break out. Do you guys really think that he's not planning a major breakout of Arkham's worst criminals or planning an invasion of the city?" Beastboy said

"For once, Beastboy has a point, we need to keep our guard up and stop this breakout or invasion before it even happens." Raven chimed in.

"Agreed I'll start tracking him first thing tomorrow morning but for right now we all need a good night's rest." Cyborg said

As the team started to clear the living room Cyborg, Damian, Raven and Starfire remained. The testing was about to begin.


	3. Chapter 3: Dream Testing

March 04 11:30pm

Damian and Raven walked slightly behind Starfire and Cyborg on the way to the infirmary to start the dream testing. Raven looked somewhat nervous or anxious even though she tries not to show her emotions very much. Damian sensed her internal struggle and silently reached for her hand and intertwined their fingers together. A little apprehensive at first Raven almost pulls her hand away feeling nervous, so nervous it almost made her sick. The thought of putting Damian through more pain and suffering made her feel horrible. He had already been through so much, losing both his grandfather and his mother who raised him. But she soon found comfort in Damian, something she hadn't felt before until leaving her Hellish universe and coming to Earth. With Damian though, it was special and more precious to her.

When they arrive in the infirmary Starfire and Cyborg instruct them to lay on two beds that were next to each other that had a large computer monitor screen behind them. Cyborg starts to pull out two sets of five wires from a large rectangular machine next to Raven's bed.

"Alright you two, these monitors should pick up dream activity and heart rate. Three of them will go on your heads, one in the center and two on both of your temples; one will go on the left center of your chest, and the last on the inside of your wrist." Cyborg stated while placing the monitors on Raven first and then on Damian.

"And what happens if we find out she is projecting her dreams to me?" Damian asked

"We will figure out why she's having the dreams to begin with then figure out why and how she is projecting them to you." Starfire answered

"And what happens if she isn't and we are having the same dreams?" Damian asked

Starfire looked at Cyborg unsure about how to answer the question. Cyborg looked back at Star and then down at Damian and answered, "Then we're in trouble."

Damian didn't respond he just looked over to Raven who held her eyes shut and her fists were clenching the bed sheets. He could tell from the walk down here that she was anxious but even he hasn't seen this much bent up anxiety in her before. Even though Damian didn't much mind messing with Raven's powers, he hoped that his dreams were coming from her because the alternative left him feeling a little uneasy himself.

"We're going to give each of you a dose of serum that should calm the nerves, slow your heartrates and help you fall asleep easier. The serum will be injected through the IV monitor stuck to your wrists and should start working as soon as it enters your blood streams." Cyborg said as Raven's eyes opened.

She then glanced over to the machine that the wires were pulled from and noticed two vials of a purple colored fluid each hooked up to their wrists. She glanced over to Damian and met his eyes and nodded slightly as if to say 'it's okay, we can do this'. Damian then nodded back in agreeance and watched as Starfire and Cyborg left the room to enter another room above the previous that had a two way mirror so that they could observe what happened.

"I'm going to inject the serum now, you should both be out less than a minute from now. Sleep tight ya'll." Cyborg said over a speaker.

Cyborg turned off the speaker and hit another button that began filling the wrist mounted monitors with the purple liquid. Both Damian and Raven watched as the serum entered their bloodstreams and they both began drifting off to sleep.

Cyborg and Starfire wait patiently until they begin to see Raven's monitor screen light up and begins playing out her dream. They quickly get up and start to observe and notice that Damian's screen is still black.

The dream starts out exactly the same as it did before, everyone was surrounded by Deadshot's men and the fighting begins. Raven glances down at the men and seems to be searching for someone. As soon as her eyes meet Damian's, his screen monitor starts to light up and you see in the dream setting Damian looking up at Raven.

Cyborg and Starfire are both shocked and relieved to find out that Raven has indeed been projecting her dreams to Damian. They begin to watch the dream play out.

It starts exactly as how it did the first time, smoke filled room, Titans surrounded, Deadshot is nowhere to be seen hiding in his groups of men. As the smoke cleared it revealed the same images on both screens, Cyborg ripped apart piece by piece, Beastboy dead next to Deadshot who then flees back into his crowed of men and Beetle injured next to Damian.

Both Damian and Raven's heartrates begin to spike in the panic of seeing their friends dead right before their eyes. Starfire notices this and shows Cyborg and they are both worried, she then glances back at the screen just in time to catch her own horrific and bloody death.

"Cyborg we have to wake them up now, we already figured out what we needed, wake them up so they don't have to see this again, it will traumatize them." Starfire yelled

Just then Raven's heartrate spiked again and this time she again was glowing with a dark purple haze around her and even began levitating above the bed.

"Star I can't stop it, they are both to emotionally invested in the dream pulling them out could result in a complete mental breakdown because they will believe what they saw actually happened. We have to let it play out." Cyborg said

They both watched the screen in horror to see Beetles death and quickly followed by Raven getting shot and watching Damian's reaction. Starfire watched with tears in her eyes as Damian caught Raven and slowly sank to the ground.

Just as Raven was losing consciousness in the dream, her heartrate slowly returned to normal and the purple haze lifted and she began drifting down to the bed again. As soon as she died in the dream her screen went black and she shot awake followed by a panicked scream. Starfire and Cyborg quickly left the room above to go back the infirmary to try and calm her down.

Raven is in shock again and this time she's sweating and holding her left side in pain, she turns around and looks at Damian's monitor screen to see her own lifeless body in his hands. He was cradling her as tears rolled down his face. At that moment Starfire and Cyborg silently entered the room to witness the same thing.

Raven has never witnessed her own death or any event that takes place after she begins to fall to the ground. She never even realized Damian had caught her and cradled her and cried over her. This brought tears to her eyes to not only see herself dead but to also see him so emotional about it.

They all watched the screen and saw Damian look away from Raven and look up at Deadshot holding a gun dangerously close to his face. Then they heard the words leave Deadshot's mouth, "I told you, you couldn't stop me. You should have pulled back the team while you had the chance to save some of them. You failed." As Deadshot begins to pull the trigger Damian's eyes shoot open and his screen also goes black as he screamed and was also sweating.

Both Damian and Raven managed to pull off the monitors and rip out their IV's when they awoke in a panic. Starfire rushed to Raven and Cyborg to Damian. Starfire checks her to make sure if she is alright and notices her hand covering her side. When Starfire moves her had she notices blood starting to seep through her clothes and cover her hand. Raven falls back onto the bed as Damian and Cyborg rush over and begin removing her shirt to find no injury besides a very large bruise that extends from the bottom of her ribcage, down to her hip bone and even wraps around to her back.

"I'm fine I promise." Raven said

"No you're not fine Raven! You're bleeding from somewhere and you have a huge bruise from something and you are in pain." Damian yelled to her

"Damian I have had the bruise since the dreams started and the blood is the blood from the dream. The pain, blood and bruise are all temporary. You forget, I'm and empath which means I feel more than anything. I feel all the pain I would have felt if I got shot, the blood that would seep from the wound and the bruising is a result of that. I promise I'm okay." Raven said

"Alright, both of you go wash up and head to bed and try to get some sleep tonight. Cyborg and I need to talk about what happened tonight and we will discuss it in the morning." Starfire said

With that Damian and Raven left the infirmary and walked down the hall back to their rooms. Starfire and cyborg both stayed behind to talk.

"I can't imagine what you must be feeling Raven, but I just wanted you to know that we will get through this together." Damian said sounding almost sad

Raven heard this and stopped dead in her tracks which caused Damian to stop also. There was about a thirty second gap before Raven turned around heading towards Damian. He noticed she had tears in her eyes as she walked up to him and hugged him. Damian quickly returned the hug and they stood that way for what seemed like forever and without saying another word broke the embrace and headed down their separate hallways to their rooms.


	4. Chapter 4: Distance

March 11 8:00am

It had been a week since Damian and Raven went through the dream testing and things weren't the same between them. Damian had noticed that Raven hardly ever came out of her room anymore, except when they got missions from Batman or Starfire. When they would go on missions Raven would hang alone in the back of the group and only use her powers when needed and not speak at all. If any of the team members tried to talk to her about the distance she had put between herself and the group she would shake it off and remain silent. Damian had had enough of it and decided he needed to talk to her.

When Damian woke up he knew he needed to talk to Raven, he just didn't know what to say. He knew they were both equally confused and exhausted from lack of sleep. He decided to head into the main room to see if anyone else was awake. To his surprise he found Starfire and Cyborg sitting on the couch close together looking over notes and graphs.

Starfire heard Damian come in and turned around and said, "Damian I'm not surprised to see that you are awake, please come over here and take a seat. Cyborg and I think we might have found out what happened during the dream testing."

"About time you guys figured something out, if you would have just let me take the information to the Batcave we would have had answers days ago." Damian said sounding a little annoyed.

"Damian, we didn't want to give you or Raven any false information. We waited until the data proved our theory was correct. After reconfiguring some of hardware we finally have a conclusive answer." Cyborg said

"Fair enough, what did you find?" Damian said

"Our original theory was that Raven was projecting her dreams onto you and what we witnessed it seemed like we were correct, however we weren't entirely correct. Raven was only projecting her dream to you from the beginning up until she died, after that your subconscious took control and finished the dream out how you believed it would end. But her dream was so detailed that yours couldn't handle all of it and the added stress of holding Raven's lifeless body in your arms. This is why all the other villains in the background disappeared and only Deadshot remained to finish what Raven set up for him to finish." Cyborg explained

Damian was in complete shock with everything that Cyborg had explained to him. After sitting there for what seems like an eternity, the more shocking news followed.

"Does Raven know?" Damian asked

"We think she has known from the beginning and didn't say anything. This is why we believe she has been distant with the team, and especially you." Starfire said

"Why I don't understand! How could she have known? Why is she distancing herself from the one person who cares about her the most!" Damian said as he stood up and walked back into the hallway seething with anger.

Starfire made the attempt to go after him but Cyborg stopped her. She usually played the motherly role at the tower not just because she was the leader, but because she is the oldest. When someone was hurting she always tried to help in any way she can, but this time she knew he needed to deal with this on his own.

Damian found himself locked in his room for hours trying to figure out and sort through all the information he heard today. He was hurt, angry, confused, relieved and annoyed. He didn't know what to think or what to feel. He thought about Raven and how she was coping with all of this and how she could have kept this from him the whole time. He needed to know, he needed to talk to her. He eventually left his room and headed down the hallway towards Raven's room.

Raven sat on her bed in her room and cried, she was completely overwhelmed with emotions. She felt defeated, exhausted physically and mentally. There was nothing she could do to ease her pain. She didn't want to distance herself from Damian but she thought this was the only way to protect him from her powers. She snapped out of her daze when she heard a knock at her door. With her powers she allowed the door to open and she was surprised to see Damian enter her room.

"I know what you are doing Raven, you are pushing me away so that I don't have to deal with these dreams anymore. That's done and over with today, I'm not going to leave you to deal with this alone. I care about you more than anyone in this tower and I refuse to let you go." Damian said to her

"Damian-" Raven added

"And how could you hide from me the fact that you knew what was going on? You need to let me in Raven I can't be on the outside of your thoughts anymore. I just don't understand how-" Damian added pacing around her room.

"Damian stop!" Raven yelled

You could almost feel the tension in the air as Damian stopped dead in his tracks and looked over at Raven who was sitting on her bed. She had tears running down her face unable to stop them this time. Damian felt his heart sink and walked over to her and held out his hands for her to grab onto and pull her to her feet. She fell into his arms and he gently held her up as she cried onto his chest.

"I'm so sorry Damian. I thought the best way to keep you and everyone else safe is if I distanced myself from everyone. I didn't know how else to protect you from me." Raven cried

Damian didn't have the right words to express how he felt at that moment. He really wasn't mad at her he was just confused and took the anger out on her. He felt bad and all he wanted to do was make her feel safe. He gently put his hand on her cheek and tilted he head towards his. He leaned in and passionately kissed her. She quickly returned the kiss with just as much passion as he put into it. They stayed like that for a while until Damian pulled away finally finding the right words to say to her.

"You don't have to protect me Raven, it is our job as your team to protect you, not abandon you. That won't solve anything. I care about you too much to not have you around me anymore. You were the first friend I ever really had and it wasn't until my mother died that I realized she never loved me. Batman and Nightwing were the only family I ever loved until you." Damian said lovingly

"Damian, I don't know what to say." Raven said

"You don't have to say anything; I just wanted you to know." Damian replied as he left the embrace and headed to the door.

Raven was still surprised at his actions and the last thing she wanted was for him to leave. She lifted her hand and used her powers to close her door as Damian opened it to leave. He spun around and she walked up to him and placed a kiss on his lips.

"Will you stay with me, I don't want to be alone anymore." She asked

Damian was a little taken aback by her question but he happily accepted her offer. Raven shut her door and quickly changed into comfortable clothes and they both laid in bed next to one another. They both fell asleep quickly and during the night Raven had rolled so that she was laying on his chest with one arm over him. Damian awoke as this happened and wrapped his arms around her and held her close until the morning came.


	5. Chapter 5: Fatal Flaw

**(WARNING! This is a longer chapter and it involves a mild make out scene and mild language use)**

March 12 10:00am

Raven was the first to wake up that morning with Damian still having his arm around her. She promptly moved his arm from around her and got out of bed to head into the shower. As she shut the door behind her Damian awoke feeling very relaxed. He couldn't remember the last time he had gotten a good night's sleep; needless to say it had been a while. Raven had felt the same way, while she was soaking in the steaming shower she felt very refreshed.

She emerged from her shower wearing a black hoodie and shorts and her hair was up in a messy still half wet bun. Damian was lying shirtless in her bed just mesmerized by her beauty. With a small flush of her cheeks she climbed back into bed.

"Good morning, how did you sleep last night?" Raven asked

"I'm going to be honest, that was the best sleep I have gotten in a long time." Damian said groggily

"Same here that was the first time I've slept through the whole night with no nightmares." Raven said looking down at her hands

Damian felt bad, he had no idea that she didn't sleep without having those nightmares. She had also been carrying around the burden of portraying her dreams on him which was weighing on her also. He felt helpless because he couldn't help her. He then realized that somehow when he stayed with her the nightmares stopped. He looked at her and lifted her chin up so he could look into her eyes.

"I'm not going to let you do this alone anymore. If I have to stay with you every night so you don't have those dreams anymore then that's what I'm going to do. I told you yesterday that you don't have to protect me, it's my job to protect you Raven." Damian said

"It isn't your job to protect me either Damian. We stopped Trigon and I still feel like our job isn't done. There is still going to be bad people out there that we have to stop and eventually some of us will get hurt in the process. It's inevitable. You can't protect me from everything all the time and I can't for you either. That being said, I would love it if you stayed with my but only if you want to because I'm not going to force you too." Raven said

"I know that and trust me I will do my best to always keep you from getting hurt. I don't know what I would do without you fighting by my side. You are important to me Raven, I don't know what I would do without you." Damian said still staring in her eyes

Raven was overcome with feelings, excitement, nervousness and anxiety. She didn't know how to express how she was feeling at that time so she showed it. For the first time, she leaned in and kissed him. The kiss was filled with passion and love and lasted a while with both of them embraced in the moment. Damian quickly returned the kiss feeling the passion behind it. With kiss after kiss Damian moved his tongue over her lips and she timidly opened her mouth to allow his tongue access to hers. They both battled for dominance and Damian quickly got it and took control. They both lied down next to each other in Ravens bed not breaking away for a second.

Raven swiftly shifted positions so she was straddling him and she placed her hands on either side of his face. Damian had moved his hands from her face and places them on her hips. A few moments later they both broke the kiss to breathe, as that happened there was a knock at Ravens door.

"Hang on a sec." Raven yelled towards the door

"Damnit." Damian said getting off Ravens bed

As he sat up Raven was still straddling him, he hoisted her up and she immediately wrapped her legs around him not wanting this moment to end as he stood. He gently placed her on the floor as he took a seat at the foot of the bed as she went and answered the door.

"Hello Raven I need to speak to Damian, it's urgent." Nightwing said

Raven was a little taken aback to see Nightwing. Ever since he and Starfire officially ended things about 4 years ago he hasn't been to the Tower much at all. On top of that she was surprised that he would come to her to try and find Damian.

"Come inside." She said

Nightwing walked inside to see Damian shirtless sitting on the edge of her bed. He then turned back at raven who was blushing and shot her a smirk and looked back at Damian still smirking and shaking his head slightly.

"Cut to the chase Nightwing, what did you come here for?" Damian asked

"I have an urgent mission that I need you for, Batman's orders." Nightwing said seriously

"What kind of mission?" Damian asked

"He didn't give me the specifics he just said you were needed as well. Suit up we are leaving in 5 minutes." Nightwing replied

"Alright, I will meet you outside." Damian said

Nightwing turned and headed for the door and shot a wink and Raven which made her blush again. Damian Stood up and headed for the door but stopped in front of Raven. He placed a hand on her cheek and said he would be back tonight and gave her a quick kiss goodbye.

Once Damian got suited up and sat in one of Dicks expensive cars the two men headed for the Batcave underneath the Wayne mansion. Sensing the hostility and nervousness, Nightwing decided now it was the time to ask about Damian and Raven's relationship.

"So, how's your girlfriend?" Nightwing asked

"She's not my girlfriend. We're just really close." Damian replied

"Oh I'm sure you are, that's probably why I found you shirtless in her room in the middle of the day." Nightwing said with a chuckle

"Alright Grayson just because you were banging girls while you were still in the womb doesn't mean I am. You are going to get yourself into some trouble sooner or later just watch." Damian said

"Okay yes I was a playboy, but I'm not anymore nor have I been in a long time. Plus I'm engaged now and Alexa and I have already begun planning the wedding. We have also been keeping a tiny secrete for a while now." Dick said

Damian remembers Alexa quite well considering her and Dick have been together for almost 3 years. She was beautiful, 24, about 5'4, long straight blonde hair, long eyelashes, slightly tanned skin and in very good shape. She and Damian had a great relationship from the start because she's loving and easy to get along with. She also tried to get into the whole hero business but decided to stay in school. She had just graduated college with a business degree and hired at Wayne Enterprises.

"True and I like Lexi but what secrete are you hiding and who all knows?" Damian said sounding a little confused

"Just her and I know, she's pregnant Damian." Dick said with a small laugh

"Oh shit, what are you going to do?" Damian asked

"What kind of question is that? I love Alexa and I would do anything for her and for our child. To be honest, I'm kind of excited to finally become a father. Bruce nor Alfred know yet so don't say anything. I'm trusting you Damian." He said

"I won't tell them you have my word. I have to ask though, why keep it a secret? If you planned on staying with her anyway then why not tell Bruce or Alfred? How far along is she anyway because it isn't like you can keep this a secret for long?" Damian asked

"Thank you and I am keeping it a secret because he will take it all the wrong way. He has always expected the best from me, to never make mistakes. If he found out she was pregnant before we got married he would be disappointed. He would also think that that meant I was going to retire from the hero business. I want to be a hero but I never wanted to become Batman and I think he expects it of me. She is about two months along so we have to tell him soon before he finds out." Dick said

"Having a baby before you get married shouldn't matter as long as you stay with her and help raise it. You need to tell him soon because I think you forget how closely they work together. You might be Bruce's partner at Wayne Enterprises, but Lexi is Lucius Fox's right hand so she works closer to Bruce then he does. He isn't stupid, if I had to bet I bet he already knows." Damian said sarcastically

Just as Damian had finished speaking they had pulled into the Batcave and saw Bruce scanning back and forth between 3 large computer screens. The two men hopped out of the car and stood behind Bruce next to Batgirl aka Barbara Gordon. After exchanging hellos, Batman turned around to face his team and pulling up villains faces on the 3 screens.

"The Elecrtocutioner, Clayface and Bane have joined forces in Gotham City, I need your help to bring them down. We will work in pairs, Batgirl you will be with me to extend your training which means Nightwing and Robin will be partners. Batgirl, you and I will go after Bane who was recently spotted on the west side of town. Nightwing and Robin, you two will each head to the north side of town where I suspect you will find the Elecrtocutioner, he will most likely be by the city's main power plant where he will have extra electricity to be messing around with." Batman said

"What about Clayface?" Damian asked

"He has yet to be spotted so keep an eye out for him. Alright let's head out." Batman said

Batman and Batgirl left in the Batmobile while Nightwing and Damian took their Batcycles to the north side. Once Batman and his apprentice arrived they quickly took Bane down by using hand to hand combat. He didn't even have to use any of his gadgets on Bane, it was almost too easy. Nightwing and Damian wished it was always that easy but unfortunately, Electrocutioner came very prepared.

"I was expecting to fight Batman not his little sidekicks, but I guess you two will do." He said laughing

"You are going to wish you hadn't said that." Damian said raising his sword and charging after him

The battle went on for about 30 minutes with both sides not giving an inch. It was a full frontal attack with mostly hand to hand and a ton of electrical shocks to go around. Having had enough, Electrocutioner let out a shot of electricity that hit Nightwing straight in the chest sending him flying backwards. Damian looked behind him to see Nightwing lying face down on the pavement. He had so much built up anger inside that he nearly exploded. He charged at Electrocutioner swinging his sword trying to hit him at least once. The Electrocutioner moved as fast at lightning quickly snatching one of Damian's medium size knives and sent it flying toward Damian. He had sparked the knife so it was encased in a shock of lightning to the point where once it hit Damian in the side he didn't know he had been stabbed. When the electrical shock wore off Damian had glanced down and noticed that a 10 inch knife of his was sticking out of the left side of him right below the ribcage. He then noticed that parts of his suit around the knife had been burned to shreds revealing severely burned skin that had already begun to bleed. He stumbled backwards and ran into a wall and the Electrocutioner had run up to him and grabbed him by the hair and threw his head back. He removed Damian's sword from his hand and kicked it away. He then grabbed a sharp electric rod from his side and stabbed it into Damian's lower right side above his pelvis. Damian let out a scream followed by a few moans of pain and he could slowly feel himself losing conscientious. Right as Damian was about to drift off he saw Nightwing standing behind Electrocutioner and knocked him out by smashing a large brick on his head.

Electrocutioner and Damian both fell unconscientious at the same time. Batman and Batgirl arrived just in time to see Nightwing catch Damian right before he hit the ground. Batgirl ran to Nightwing's side as Batman made sure Electrocutioner was handcuffed to a pole and had been stripped of his electrosuit. Batman joined Batgirl's side and saw Nightwing lift Damian into his arms and began heading for the Batmobile.

"Dick, what happened?" Batman yelled sternly

"I will tell you on the way back to the cave, Damian isn't in good shape he's bleeding out to quickly."

Without another word Batman rushed to the Batmobile and helped place Damian inside while Nightwing and Batgirl took the cycles back to the cave. The ride back to the cave felt like an eternity to Bruce, his own flesh and blood was dying right before his eyes. Damian was now drifting in and out of conscientiousness letting out moans every time they hit a bump in the road. Batman radioed to Alfred and told him to prepare the infirmary and to call in a few trusted doctors.

"…you have…to tell Raven…what happened." Damian said through the moans of pain in his chest and abdomen

"I will, I promise." Bruce replied to his son

All of the bats returned to the cave at the same time and Bruce wasted no time unstrapping Damian from his seat. Dick also wasted no time as he ran from his cycle and gently picked Damian up and carried him bridal style to the medical wing. The doctors begin work on Damian immediately and swiftly cut his uniform from his body so that all he had on were his boxers and his mask.

They quickly realized that the bleeding was not slowing down and struggled to maintain his blood loss. Damian already had an IV in his arm and a gas mask over his nose and mouth. They quickly gave him a drug through his IV called Tranexamic acid to help his blood clot faster. The doctors then realized that his oxygen levels were very low and he could have suffered a punctured lung from the stab wound to the chest. As all of this was happening, Bruce, Babs and Dick watched as Damian was struggling to survive. Bruce sent Barbara home and told her not to worry and after she was gone he turned towards Dick.

"I need you to do something for me." Bruce said staring at Dick

"Sure Bruce what is it?" Dick asked

"I need you to send a video message to Titans Tower and inform them of the events that have taken place tonight. Tell them that Damian is in stable condition and will be returning if and when I say he can." Bruce said very monotone

"Why can't I tell them the truth? Damian might die and that team is like a family to him and you want me to lie and say that he's fine?" Dick said sounding frustrated

"We are his family and that is his team, there is a big difference. I would never ask you to lie unless there was a better reason too." Bruce replied

"And what reason would that be exactly because this isn't justifiable in my eyes." Dick said

"I don't want the team to worry and come looking for him here. Our identities are still secret in the eyes of the Titans and of the public. If they were to come here our secret identities would be learned by the rest of the world. Do you really want your private life to be known by anyone besides us and Alexa?" Bruce said

"No, I guess not. I'll send the message." Dick said sounding sad

"Thank you Dick and afterwards go get those wounds looked at and head home. Alexa and your soon to be child are going to want you home." Bruce said very condescendingly

"Wait how did you-" Dick stated in shock

"Dick when my new assistant to Lucius Fox spends a good part in the bathroom puking every morning, I hear about it. I knew you would tell me when you guys were ready to but I'm happy for you both." Bruce said with a slight smile

"Thank you Bruce." Dick replied

Back at Titans Tower Raven lay in her bed staring up at the ceiling and thinking about Damian. She glanced over to the clock and noticed that it was past 1:00am and he still wasn't back yet. She remembers from previous times that Batman called Damian for a private mission and he would be back no later than 11:00pm.

Worry began to cloud her every thought as she feared something horrible must have happened for him not to be back yet. After about 5 minutes of thinking the worst, the alarm to the Tower began to go off. All five titans quickly reported to the control room and received an urgent video message from Nightwing. Raven's heart instantly felt like it dropped into her stomach as Starfire opened the video.

"Titans, I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour but I have to inform you about events that took place earlier tonight in Gotham city. Batman called in Batgirl, Damian and I in for a private mission in an attempt to take down Bane, Clayface and the Electrocutioner. Splitting us into teams of two, Batman and Batgirl easily took down Bane and we now know why he was so easy of a target. Bane was hoping to see Damian and I there, instead he got Batman and pretty much aided as a distraction. When Damian and I went to stop the Electrocutioner he was more than prepared and we didn't stand a chance from the beginning. He and I both suffered multiple electroshocks from his weapons but it wasn't until I was knocked unconscientious that he went after Damian. He suffered major stab wounds to the chest and lower abdominal region but he is in stable condition. He will return to the Tower if and when he is deemed healthy enough by Batman and when he regains his full strength. There is no need to worry Titans, he will be returning soon and you shall hear more from us shortly."

After the message finished, Raven instantly knew he was lying about Damian's condition. She was smart enough to know that Damian had never dwelled on an injury and just insisted he was fine even when he wasn't. She knew that for him to be knocked unconscientious he had to have suffered major blood loss from major injuries. Even though she knew all of this, she remained silent.

"Tio mierda santa." Jaime said

"Damn dude, how bad could he possibly be for Nightwing to just give us basic information like that?" Beastboy said

"Alright everyone needs to calm down. I will talk to Nightwing in the morning and get more information on Damian's condition. For right now we have to trust that he is doing alright and he is stable like Nightwing said. Everyone go back to bed and try to get some rest." Starfire said trying to sound positive

Beastboy, Jaime and Cyborg all left the control room leaving Starfire and Raven in there alone. Raven could tell from her lack of positivity that she also knew Nightwing was bluffing. Even knowing that, she still remained quiet and silently left the control room and headed for her bedroom. She quickly changed into her uniform, locked her bedroom door, put her hood up and silently flew out her window in search of Damian.


	6. Chapter 6: Aftermath

March 13 6:45am

Raven knew what she needed to do and where she needed to go. She also knew that if she went to the Batcave to see Damian that she would give up the fact that she knew Batman and Nightwing's true identities. Feeling very conflicted, she sat on the roof of the tower and watched as the sun rose from the skyline of the city. She decided that Damian's health was more important than the consequences of exposing the Wayne family. She stood up and headed to Gotham city.

It had taken her about three hours to get to Gotham and find her way around the big city. Once she found the Wayne mansion she carefully phased through the giant brick wall and could sense Damian was close to her. Noticing the uneven driveway path the realized she could phase through it and it opened up a completely separate driveway that ran underneath the mansion. She followed the road until she came to a huge clearing filled with computer monitors, older Batman and Robin suites all enclosed in glass cases, a large variety of tools large and small, weapons ranging from grappling hooks to knock out gasses, the Batmobile and trophies from previous missions. She stopped dead in her tracks and tried to take it all in.

She started her walk around the Batcave and made her way upstairs where the suites were. Down a ways on her left side she saw a sign for the infirmary and on her right was a large training room. Carefully, she made her way to the infirmary doors and opened them up leading her to Damian's room. She stared in shock when she saw Bruce Wayne standing outside the window that peers into his room.

"I was wondering when you would get here Raven. I knew you would be able to tell Dick was lying in his video message to the team. I also know that you are aware of our secrete identities if you managed to find this place on your own. What I can't see to figure out is how and when you figured it out." He said to her without even turning around to see if it was even her

"I saw it in his memories when I healed him the first time we met. I'm really sorry I didn't mean to intrude on such a personal issue. He means a lot to me and I needed to see for myself how bad he really is. I know why you lied about his condition, it was to save your identities from the public eye, I swear I would never tell yours or Nightwing's secrete identities to anyone. If you want me to leave I will and I will not speak a word of this place to anyone." Raven said sounding very apologetic

"No, I'm glad you came here today. It took the doctors a long time to stabilize him and he was in surgery until about 15 minutes ago. It took the doctors almost 8 hours to repair the damages done to him. He has never been hurt like this before, he truly almost died last night Raven. He ended up having major lacerations from both knives, a punctured lung, ruptured appendix, his body went into sepsis and then shock and his heart stopped once on the operating table." He said bowing his head

Tears began to fall from her eyes as Bruce spoke and she nearly sank to the ground. She knew he was in bad condition but she never imagined the possibility of him dying. That hit her like a ton of bricks as she couldn't imagine a life without Damian in it, and it was almost a reality that she would have had to learn to cope with.

Bruce glanced at her and felt for the young women. He bowed his head and started to walk over to her and pulled her into a hug and just held her as the tears flowed down both of their faces. Nearly losing his own son had taken a toll on him as well.

"He loves you Raven, whether you might think so or not." Bruce said pulling away and looking at her

"Go in and see him, he will probably be waking up soon and I know he would be in a better mood if you were there with him. I'll inform Starfire that you are here because I have a feeling you didn't tell anyone you left." Bruce said looking at her and whipping her tears away

She nodded at him then turned to enter his room. As she slipped in the doorway Nightwing had just gotten back from a small mission and went to check on Damian. Dick was greeted by Bruce who had begun to leave the infirmary. Dick then turned to follow Bruce as he walked toward the mansion.

"How is he? Has he woken up yet?" Dick asked with concern in his voice

"He's stabilized and Raven is here with him right now." Bruce said as they both turned and headed back for the mansion

"Raven? How did she know where to even begin looking for him?" Dick asked

"I'm not sure but I know she must have used her powers in some way to assist in finding him. Their bond could jeopardize everything I have worked so hard to build in him." Bruce said arriving in the library of the Wayne mansion

"What do you mean? You sending him to this team has been good for him, you telling him to stay up in the monastery with the monks was good for him, Talia leaving him with you was probably the best thing she has ever done for him and you took him in willingly." Dick said

"No not things I have physically done, things I've done mentally. I have changed his entire outlook on revenge and killing others. He was a completely different person when I first met him when he was 10 and you and I both worked our asses off training him to do good." Bruce replied

"So how exactly do you think his and Raven's bond could jeopardize that?" Dick asked slightly confused

"Because they are so connected and share such a strong connection I fear that if anything were to happen to Raven he would slip back into his vengeful ways. She was the first friend he ever had and the only other person that he shared a stronger bond with other than her was Ra's Al Ghul. If he loses her, I will lose my grip on him." Bruce said lowering his head

"Then I hope for all of our sakes nothing ever will happen to her. But I also do think that we might have to start preparing ourselves for a war." Dick said

"I agree, I have already scheduled a meeting with the Justice League and the Titans. I would really appreciate it if you attended as well." Bruce asked

"Yes I will be there, I'm assuming Kori will be also." Dick said looking a little flushed

"Considering she is still the leader of the Titans yes she will be attending." Bruce said

Dick had felt bad for how Koriand'r and his relationship had ended. She had a hard time letting go of the team and Dick wanted out of the super hero business and was ready to settle down. She also wasn't willing to step down as leader and give the reins to the one person who was born to lead, Robin. When Tim and Dick were Robin they both took control of the Titans as team leader and Kori was happy to hand over her leadership position. She felt however that even though Damian had shown much change and promise over the years that he still wasn't ready. Dick was the one who ultimately ended their relationship not long after she moved in with him.

Back in Damian's hospital room Raven had pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed and studied him in shock. It was worse than she expected, he was hooked to a bunch of monitors and machines, shirtless because of all the bandages on his chest, he was bruised up badly and he looked very pale.

She sat there for hours just staring and waiting for him to wake up. When he did start to wake up, Raven nearly leaped from her chair and stood by his head. He slowly began to open his eyes and looked around finding Raven almost instantly. He smirked and centered his head and closed his eyes again.

"You look like you haven't slept a wink." Damian said sounding groggy

Raven tried hard to contain her emotions and not get angry with him. She wanted to yell at him for getting hurt, kiss him for being awake, cry because she knew he was going to be okay and laugh that him worrying her was the first thing on his mind.

"I haven't because I've been worried about your dumb ass for the past few hours." She said giggling slightly

Damian scooted over in his bed and groaned at the pain he was finally feeling. He didn't care at all, he just wanted to be close to her, hold her in his arms. When he felt as though she had enough room he held out his arm and looked at her.

"Come lay with me, I'm really not in the mood to be alone right now." He said

With the slightest hesitation she did craw gently into bed trying not to disturb him too much. She gently placed her arm around his chest and nestled into him arms. Damian grabbed the controls for the room and shut off the lights that felt like they were blinding him. They instantly fell asleep in the comfort of each other's arms and knowing that they were both safe.


End file.
